In late August, a group of leading defense experts gathered at Cornell University to tackle a far-reaching problem: What is the future of drone warfare, and how will drones impact the security and stability of NATO members and partners?

James Patton Rogers, Executive Director of the Cornell Brooks School Tech Policy Institute, and Dominika Kunertova, Senior Researcher for the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich, hosted the "Full Spectrum Drone Warfare 2050: Developments in Drone Deployment Across All Domains" workshop as part of a larger project that has recently received support from the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme. In April, the Brooks Tech Policy Institute was granted $65,000 to analyze the development and use of military drone technologies.

“Those of us who have tracked the emergence of drone technology in military applications have long realized that drone warfare is not limited to the skies,” Patton Rogers said. “And now we’re contending with the acceleration of drone warfare across all domains and at scale. This project is our effort to bring the best people together, including our industry-leading Cornell alums, to think through the future of war and advise on NATO’s policy response.”

The project, a transatlantic partnership between BTPI and the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) of ETH Zurich spearheaded by Patton Rogers and Kunertova, will consist of advanced research workshops bringing leading experts and practitioners to identify the factors that may contribute to the increased use of land, air, and sea drones in what has been termed the “Third Drone Age.” Ultimately, the goal is to provide NATO members and partners with insights into the development of drone and counter-drone capabilities.

Patton Rogers’ work focuses on prohibiting the global proliferation of drones to hostile state and non-state actor groups. He has previously advised the EU Commission, UK Parliament, and the United Nations on this issue, with his 2022 address to the UN Security Council contributing to the UN’s Delhi Declaration and Abu Dhabi Declaration aimed at halting the spread of disruptive and emerging technologies, including AI-infused and lethal autonomous weapons, to violent non-state actors groups.

He recently edited the De Gruyter Handbook of Drone Warfare, the first handbook of its kind, bringing together 37 authoritative voices on the growing issues of commercial and military drone technologies. The book includes a chapter from BTPI Founder and Director Sarah Kreps, John L. Wetherill Professor in the Department of Government and the Brooks School. 

The work offers a view of the origins of military drones in the early 1900s and the resurgence of drone use during the War on Terror, through to the global proliferation of drones across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and explores the moral, ethical, technological, legal, military, geopolitical, social, and strategic issues at the heart of drone warfare.

“We want BTPI to continue to be the home of cutting-edge interdisciplinary discussions like this, collaborations that break down traditional barriers across industry, policy, and academia to support NATO and its allies as drone warfare becomes a central threat,” Patton Rogers said. “And we want to make sure the best minds available are taking up these issues that have far-reaching implications for all of us.”

Giles Morris is the assistant dean for communications in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy.